THE MYSTICISM OF ABU Y4ZID AL-BISTAMI

By: Mohd Fakhrudin AbdulMukti

Abstrak

Artikel ini membahaskan pemiHran tasawufAbu Yazid al- Bistami Konsep al-' yang dihayati oleh beliau dalam usaha menghampirkan diri kepada s.w.t. telah menghasilkan suatu implikasi yang penuh dengan tanda tanya terutama kata-kata ganjil dan kontroversi yang terhembur dari bibirnya. Artikel inijuga meninjau sejauh mana pengaruh pemikiran mistik Hinduisme dalam tasawuf al-Bistami atau sekurang-kurangnya persamaan- persamaan di antara keduanya.

Introduction

The origins of the Sufi movement are attributed in great measure to the role played by the earliest Sufis of the Islamic era, the 'iabi'in' ((he followers of the Prophet). Many later Sufis could not avoid recognizing the influence of these early masters when expe riencing this kind of mystical life as a manifestation of their under standing or mterpretation of Islamic teachings based on the Qur'an and the Traditions, the practical life of the Prophet himself, and of his close companions. If one examines the teachings of the later Sufis in comparison with those of the earliest Sufis, one finds the roots of the latter in these teachings.

Abu Yazid al-Bistami (d. 261 A.H. or 264/874 or 877 A.D.)

11 AFKAR-B1L 1/2000 was regarded by Abu Nasr al-Sarraj (d. 380 A.H) as one of the prominent earliest Sufi masters ever known. Abu Yazid's ideas in fluenced many Sufis after him, such as al-Junayd (d. 291 A.H/910 A.D), al-Shibll (d. 334 A.H/945 A.D) and al-Hallaj (d. 309 A.H/ 921A.D). They commented his ideas and introduced some new concepts, particularly with regard to renunciation (zuhd), intoxica tion (sukf) and annihilation (fana'). Abu Yazid is considered as the Sufi who really underwent the mystical life that looked so strange not only to the non-Sufis but also to some of 'ulamd' during and after his time. Some of the lat ter 'ulamd' even accused him of being an infidel because of his theopetic utterances known as shatahdt. It is very difficult for the common Muslim to understand his utterances. Yet we cannot un derstand his teachings without understanding the words spoken by him. In other words, we have to understand his shatahat and the nature of the languages he used, especially . Unfortunately we no longer have access to his original articles or books written by his hand. Al-Sarraj agreed with al-Junayd in defending Abu Yazid's say ings and ideas. They respected him as a Sufi who had his own understanding of the Islamic teachings through the Qur'an and the Traditions. On the other hand, many scholars say that the shatahats are originally rooted in foreign sources, especially in Hinduism from which his teacher converted to . There are many similarities of the words they used and the concepts they tried to introduce.

1. Abu Yazid's Life and Personality His full name was Abu Yazid Tayfur ibn *Isa ibn Surushan. He was also known as Bayazid. He was born at Bistam, in the prov ince of Kumis, in Northeastern Iran, in the west Khurasan. He spent the latter part of his life in his village and died there in 261 A.H/874 A.D or 264 A.H/877-8 A.D.1 But according to Sahlaji

1 See The Encyclopeadia of Religion Vol. 2 (New York: Mac Millan Pub lishing Company, 1960), p. 162, 2 Abdul Haqq Ansari, in Hamdard Islamicus Vol. 6,1983, p. 26.

12 THE MYSTICISM OF ABU YAZID AL-BISTAM1

(d. 476 A.H/984 A.D), he died in 234 A.H/847 A.D at the age of seventy three. That means he was born in 161 A.H/777 A.D.2 When he was ten years old, Abu Yazid left his village and be gan moving from place to place over a period of thirty years in order to seek knowledge and to discipline himself in the ways of the Sufi masters of that time. When he was forty years old he came back to his village and began living as a mystical Sufi, teaching those disciples who sought him out to gain knowledge and educate themselves. During this time he reportedly corresponded with se veral Sufis. Among themwere Abu Musa al-Daybuli, Ahmad ibn Khadruyah Yahya al-Razi, and Dhu Nun al-Misrl (d. 861 A.D.). It was said that they also contacted him through correspondence and some of them also visited him at his house.3 Unfortunately, we cannot find further information on what they discussed through such activities. As a religious man and an 'ascetic Sufi', Abu Yazfd spent all his time worshipping God by practicing the religious teachings and performing the pilgrimage to Mecca. For his full-time devotion to God, he reportedly asked God to relieve him of food and woman. Hence, it was said that he never got married in his life. Sahlaji even does not mention whether he did so or not. Because of his full-time worshipping, he probably did not want to have much to do with his wife - if he got married * Otherwise, al-Isfahani told us 3 The Encyclopeadia of Religion, op. cit., p. 162. 4 Ansari, op. cit., p. 27. Many Sufis were known to have been celibates such as Rabi'ah al-Adawiyyah (d. 181 A.H.), and Ibrahim ibn Adham (d. 160 A.H.). For them, marriage might prevent them from full time devoting to God. Al-Ghazali, however, sees the marriage as a personal choice to ac tivate one's spiritual life and inner peace. If someone feels that, by celibacy, is more able to serve his spiritual life in drawing closer to God, he has a right to be a celibate. One of Sufis, Bishr al-Hafi (d. 227 A.H.) says that he has a duty to obey God's commandments and make it impossible to him to follow the Prophet's Sunna. See: Tor Andrae,/« The Garden of Myrtles trans. Birgitta Sharpe (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1987), pp. 46-47. However, it is different between the Muslim, Hindu and Chris tians ascetics who are commanded to be celebate and lead a monastic life. See Syed Naguib al-Attas, Some Aspects ofSufism (Singapore: Malaysian Sociological Research Institute Ltd, 1963), p. 5.

13 AFKAR-BH. 1/2000 that Abu Yazid's wife narrated something to Abu Hassan al- Mazuri.5 It means here that he had a wife.

Abu Yazid chose to live in poverty and hunger. He related hunger with dependance on God because hunger can make some one aware of his weakness. He indicated his conviction of the value of hunger by saying, "If Pharaoh (Fir'auri) had been hungry, he would not have said, "I am your Supreme Lord (ana rabbukum al-a'la)" and also that if Korah (Qarun) had been hungry, "he would not have been rebellious" (al-Nazi'at (79): 24).6

There are many other famous sayings from the Sufis about the virtues of hunger and fasting. To most of them, having food is just to preserve life. Sahl b. Abd Allah at-Tustari (d. 283 A.H.), who was famous for his fasts, said, "Food should be eaten only to pre serve life and reason, not to give strength, and that incapacity to perform one's devotions through weakness arising from want of food was better than the performance of them by one who had eaten his fill".7 They also said that hunger is a prison for Satan and that satiation (fullness) is his weapon. Ibn Sahl had the view that satiation is one of "the four enemies" to a man. The others are the world (ad-dunya), inclination (al-hawa) and the soul (al-).8

In order to attain knowledge of God, Abu Yazid used a "hun gry belly and a naked body".9 He distributed food and everything he possessed to the poor and needy. He did not own anything, and also refused to use comfortable things. It was said that he refused to receive a pillow sent to him by Dhu Nun al-Misri. He had only the shirt that covered his body, and even that shirt was returned by

5 Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani,//ifya/ al-Awliya' Wa Tabaqat al-Asfiya'Vol. 10 (Beirut: Dar al-Kifab al-'Arabi, 1967), p. 36. 6 All bin Uthman Al-Hujwiri, ATas/i/ al-Mahjub, Trans. Reynold A. Nicholson (New Delhi: Taj Company, 1991), pp. 349-350. 7 James Hastings, The Encytopaedia of Religion and Ethnics, Vol. I (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928), pp. 102-103. 8 Ahmad ibn Muhammad 'Ajibah al-Hasani,/^? al-Himamfi Sharh al- Hikam (: Matba'ah Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi, n.d.). P- 403. 9 M.A. Hastings and D.D. James.op. cit., p. 101.

14 THE MYSTICISM OF ABU YAZI~D AL-BISTAMf

its borrower to him after his death.10 Abu Yazid chose to live in this way because of his understand ing of the verses of the Qur'an which characterised the worldly life (al-hayat al-dunya) as a game (la'ibun), an entertainment (lahwun) and a decoration (zinatun). The Qur'an also says that the worldly life is definitely a "deceitful enjoyment" (mata'ul ghuritr). A simi lar disregard for the material can be found in the lives of many scholars. By the modern standard that kind of life might be seen as rigid and conservative and at least it would be unpopular and out- of-date.

2 Self-mortification and Seeking Knowledge Abu Yazid described his self-mortification {mujahadat al-nafs) and the results he gamed through it. He said:

For thirty years I was active in self-mortification and I found nothing harder than to learn knowledge {al- 'ilm) and follow its precepts. And even if there were no different views among the scholars ('ulamd') I would be tired. The disagreement of the scholars is a mercy except in the term of Oneness ().11 This tells us that Abu Yazid recognises the difficulty of seek ing knowledge compared to undergoing self-mortification in which he experienced so many years. Instead, he was not worried in per forming devotions and rituals ('ibdddt) and ignored seeking knowl edge so far because what he did was in favour of the ideas of some 'ulamd'.12 Generally speaking, that to be a worshipper was easier than to be an 'ulamd'.

In this way, Abu Yazid spent his time to study many things until he was not only regarded as a Sufi but also as a theologian, philosopher and poet.13 However, his works on the matters remain 10 Ansari, op. cit., p. 27. 11 Al-IsfahanI, op. cit, p. 36. 12 In fact, there is 'no in Islamf/a rahbaniyyah fi al-Islam). See Muhammad al-Ghazali, Kayfa Nata 'amal Ma 'a al-Qur'an (Virginia: The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1991), p. 48. 13 Al-Attas, op. cit., p. 8.

15 AFKAR-BIL1/2000 unknown and al-Attas seems to consider him as such without ex plaining his contribution on the matter. On the other hand, Abu Yazid was very concerned about obeying the Shari'ah Law and was very kind to his neighbours and to all people. This statement can be supported when he said, "I have agreed to burn myself in Hell in place of the people in order to save them".14 He also was reported to be very humble and said to have never undermined anybody. He is reputed to have said that everyone who thinks oth ers are worse than he is an egotist (mutakabbir). He reminded his disciples constantly that evil also grows from inside the body. In fact, the Prophet (peace be upon him) often said that there is a piece of meat inside the body of a human being. If it is good the entire body will be good and if it is bad the entire body will be bad. That is the heart (al-). The problem had gained attention of the Sufis over the centu ries. One of the scholars, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d.505 A.H/1111 A.D), devoted his life to discuss extensively "the diseases of the heart" (amrad al-qulub) as far his famous book "Ihyd' 'Ulum al- Din" is concerned. Finally he concluded that '' was the only way bringing to the truth and reality (al-haqq wa al-haqiqah). In contrast to al-Ghazali, Abu Yazid involved in Sufism from the very beginning of his life.

3 The Secret Utterances of Abu Yazid (Shatahat) As stated, Abu Yazid had many shatahat in his mystical life. Ac cording to al-Sarraj, "" in Arabic is a characteristic of those who have reached the end of self-will (which is the beginning of the state of perfection) and are advancing towards the goal, but have not yet attained it.15 It is like a narrow river as its water has overflowed over its banks. An ascetic man who overflows with the feeling of ultimate love towards God in his heart and unable to keep it in, just tries to express in such words as he can.16 Of

14 Ansari, op. cit, p. 29. 15 Al-Sarraj, al-Luma', ed. Reynold Allegne Nicholson (London: Luzac & Company Ltd., 1963), p. 101. 16 Ibid., p. 287.

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course, the utterances of this kind would be easily misunderstood by the common Muslims, who do not experience with such mysti cal feelings. The Sufis spoke these words in a state of intoxication (sukr) and annihilation (fana') and were seeking to describe a (affective experience) which sets in with force, throws the mystic into excitement, and overpowers him. "It is a language by which one expresses a wajd that flows from its source and carries a claim. The claimant has lost his reason, but he is guarded (mahfuz)".17 In general, many of Abu Yazid's concepts of mysticism are to be understood through the utterances considered as shatahdt. Without understanding these, we cannot reach his ideas at all. Shatdhat actually seems to run contrary to conventional collective understanding, and without knowing its speaker, would be rejected out of hand. Many sayings uttered by Abu Yazid, preserved by his disciples are of this kind. In his sayings, he seems to use God's very words, and also to claim that only God deserves. According to Ansari there are three categories of shatahdt:18 The first is the state in which Abu Yazid forgets himself com pletely and affirms God alone. In one instance when he was asked about himself he replied that "he also is looking for Abu Yazid". In this category too that what he said "none is in his house except God". He sometimes replied to the same question with two differ ent answers. This is attributed to different status, one being in the state of seff-forgetfulness (fana') and the second in the state of liv- ing-in-God (baqct'). The second category of shatahdt refers to Abu Yazid's decla ration of unity with God. His well-known sayings in this category are, "Glory be to me glory be to me" (subhanisubhani), "How great is My Majesty" (ma a'zamu sha'ni), I am My Lord the Great. I watched my heart for forty years, then I looked at myself and lo! It was the Lord and the Lord was the servant". He also said, "I am the well-preserved tablet (al-lawh al-mahfuz)". Here he

17 Ansari, op. cit., p. 37. 18 Ibid., pp. 40-41.

17 AFKAR-BIL 1/2000 seems to declare that he has been given some extraordinary knowl edge.

The third category consists of shatahat is considered from the third degree of farm' in which Abu Yazid forgets both himself and the Lord and passes into complete unknowable infinitude (ghayba). Some of his sayings in this category are: "I am like a sea of uncon sciousness (bahr mustalim) which has no beginning and no end". This means he forgets everything including his own attributes as a man. He even said, "No morning, no evening" because they both need attributes as he was without having attributes. His attributes have vanished into His ghayb and the ghayb has no attributes that can be known. All his sayings are speaking about the stages of mystical experience and certainly an ordinary man is difficult to understand them.

The shatahat are the words of Abu Yazid who spoke them out unconsciously while he was completely "forgetting himself. The "I" for him belongs only to God, because two "I"s are impossible. The oneness just returns to God alone (wahdat al-wujM) who de serves it. He "himself is nothing, everything vanishes except God who is alive forever. Abu Yazid was considered a "saint" by his fellow Sufis. His expression of proximity to God can be found in his narration about going to heaven, called mi'raj (ascension). According to al- Hujwiri, this event was exactly the same that happened to the Prophet, but the different thing that the ascension of the prophet took place outwardly and in the body whereas the ascension of the saints took place inwardly, and in the spirit. When a saint is enrap tured and intoxicated, he is withdrawn from himself by means of a spiritual ladder and brought near to God.19 Abu Yazid described it by saying, "His spirit was borne to the heavens. It looked at noth ing and gave no heed, though Paradise and Hell were displayed to it, for it was freed from phenomenon and veils".20

Al-Sarraj joined with al-Junayd and tried to defend Abu Yazid's utterances, seeing nothing in them which contradicted Is- 19 Al-Hujwiri, op. cit., pp. 238-239. 20 Ibid., p. 238.

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lamic teachings. It was reported that al-Sarraj visited Abu Yazid's village, Bistam, and met his family in order to clarify about the strange utterances, such as "I am God", whether they were really pronounced by Abu Yazid or not. In this case, his family told him (al-Sarraj) that they had never heard such words springing out of his moulh. To tell the truth that al-Sarraj himself does not reject any shatahat. This is because to deny any shatahat means to deny him as being an "ascetic" as well as his . Practically speaking many Sufis before and after him spoke shatahat. For example, Al-Rabi'ah al-'Adawiyyah (d. 180 or 185 A.H.) expressed her love to God to the extent that she said, "I do not love the Ka'bah but the God of Ka'bah.", Yahya ibn Mu'az (d. 258 A.H.) and al-Hallaj,_al-Junayd, Ibn 'Ata' al-Iskandari (d. 709 A.H/1309 A.D), al-Shibli and many others are remembered for ut terances that are very controversial for some.21 Though al-Sarraj had no doubts about Abu Yazid having shatahat, he stood to defend him rejecting the accusation of infi delity made by Ibn Sulaim (d. 297 A.H.). Al-Sarraj simply said to Ibn Sulaim, "Your accusation with kufr to this person who is known as an escetic, worshipper, learned man and so on, is defi-

21 See Ibrahim Basyunl, Nosh 'ah al-Tasawwuf al-Islami (Cairo: Dar al- Ma'arif, 1969), pp. 246-251. Iheshatahdts of the Sufis were unacceptable whatever being bound by interpretations by them or their disciples. Their utterances of this kind invited tribulations and somehow cost them their lives because they were considered 'heretical and a danger to the State and to Islam 'as happened to al-Hallaj himself who said, "I am God". See al- Attas, op. cit., p. 9. But according to Anwar al-Jund"i, the persecution and execution of al-Hallaj was not concerned with his words of that kind but it came in the wake of the unveiling of his secret letter to al-Qafamitah pur posing to topple the Islamic state during his time (under the reign of , al-Muqtadir Billah). See "al-Hatfaj wa al-Qafamitah", in Manar al-Islam, April 1985, pp. 74-75. See 'Umar Famtkh,al-Tasavmuffi al-Islaih (Beirut: Maktabah al-Munayminah, 1947), p. 66. Abu Ya^d was also reportedly deported many times_by the King from his village, BisEam. This was possibly due to his (shatahat) that were considered dangerous to the ummah. See al-Hasani, op. cit, p. 399.

19 AFKAR-BIL 1/2000 nitely impossible".22 For him, Abu Yazid had a right to express his personal inner feeling when speaking of his experiences. Al-Sarraj treated the issue in the contexts of situation, position, state and feelings that surrounded Abu Yazid's mystical life.23

4. Abu Yazid's Ideas on Sufism As mentioned before, most of Abu Yazid's ideas of Sufism can be understood through his shatahat. As for being an ascetic Sufi Abu Yazid is said to have a wonderful mystical experience which was narrated by both those disciples who were with him and those who visited him. There are no books available because, according to H. Ritter, he wrote nothing. However, some five hundred of his say ings were handed down by his disciples and hiscircle, in the first place by his elder brother's son, Abu Musa 'Isa b. Adam. Al- Junayd received his original Persian sayings and translated them into Arabic.24

A. The Teaching of Renunciation (Zuhd) Abu Yazid's concept of renunciation can be understood through his practical life. He actually practised what he said. Zuhd has its roots in Islamic teaching through the understanding of some verses of the Qur'an and the practical life of the Prophet and his close companions. Forms of Abu Yazid's zuhd can be shared with many Sufis before and after him, particularly in terms of their attitude towards the worldly life and material things. Basically the idea of blaming the worldly life (al-haydt al-dunyd) can be found literally in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

22 Ibn Sulaim assumes that Abu Yazid in his saying "Glory be to me Glory be to me" has acted like Fir'aun who said "I am thejiighest God" (ana rabbukumul a'la) but for al-Sarraj the word 'me' in Abu Yazid's saying re turns to God,uttered only by him, as we find in so many verses in the Qur'an when someone reads 'I am your God just worship me'. 'Me' here surely refers to God not to the one who says that. See al-Sarraj,op. cit., p. 391. 23 Ibid., p. 304.

24 The Encyclopeadia of Religion, s.v. Bayazid.

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One of the verses in the Qur'an is, "...in order that you may not despair over matters that pass you by, not exult over favours bestowed upon you. For God loves not any vainglorious boaster" (Qur'an, 57:23). And also regarding life in the world, as God says, "The worldly life (al-haydt al-dunya) is not a thing except deceit enjoyment (matd'ul ghurur)" (Qur'an 57:20). These simple verses from the Qur'an are understood to encourage the Sufis to keep away from this world, and not to enjoy the happiness found in it. Abu Yazid's point of view about renunciation came from his all-consuming love of God. To him, renunciation and devotion are two elements of religion and religion is nothing without both. He had no belongings and offered himself to God by performing all the obligations and Sunnah practices. His desire was to be nearer to God, even "as near as his jugular vein" (habl al-) as stated clearly in the Qur'an (2:16). According to al-Qushayii, there were different views among scholars about Zuhd. To some, it means re nunciation of the unlawful (al-hardm) because the lawful (al-haldl) is allowed by God. When God gives a lawful property to his ser vant, he should worship Him by thanking Him (for that blessing); to reject it is not considered as a virtue. The rejection of al-haldl is not a renunciation.25 (d. 241/855) divided zuhd into three divi sions: avoiding the unlawful (al-hardm) is the zuhd of the ordinary person; avoiding the virtues (al-fudul) is the zuhd of the elite (al- khawwds); avoiding what brings you away from God is the zuhd of gnostics (al- 'drifin).26 The zuhd of the gnostic was undergone by Abu Yazid and de facto he was known as "the Chief of Gnostics" (sultan al- 'drifin). This is the highest stage of Sufis as they are re ally sinking in the love of God. They are understood to know noth ing except the Truth and the Reality (al-haqq wa al-haqlqah). This stage of knowing nothing but the truth and reality was characterised by Ibn Sina (d. 428 A.H.) as "being unable to be ex-

25 Ibid. 26 Ibid.

21 AFKAR-BIL 1/2000 pressed by words (Id yumkin wasjuhu)".21 It appears therefore that Abu Yazid al-Bistami was practicing the upper degree of zuhd as defined by Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Sina. Abu Yazid clearly rejected all offers from God saying that they all were temptations from God and all of them he considered as "deceit" (khud'ah). Abu Yazid said, "I was three days in renun ciation. On the fourth day I had finished it. The first day I re nounced (his world, the second day I renounced the otherworld, the third day I renounced everything save God; When the fourth day came, nothing was left to me but God. I reached a desperate long ing. Then I heard a voice addressing me."0 Abu Yazid, you are not strong enough to endure, with me alone. I said, "That is exactly what I want". Then the voice said, "You have found, you have found".28

This typical kind of shatahat was spoken in a state of renun ciation. After he renounced the world and everything but God, he dreamed that God warned him of something. Without this kind of zuhd he would have failed to win his desire to hear that voice from God. Abu Yazid also explained that he had divorced the world three times and he would never turn back to the world again. He prayed alone and called upon God with special prayer. For him the proof God accepted his prayer was that He made him forget him self completely and he ignored all the creatures before him.29 He rejected everything God offered to him, and was simply very pleased with God's blessings, he claimed that he had already got ten the gifts from God (al- 'atayd al-ildhiyyah).

The zuhd to which he had committed himself was a real zuhd,

27 Ibn Sina talked about the three stages of Sufis. Al-zahid (escetic), 'abid (worsipper), and al- 'drif (gnostic). For him to reach the stage of gnostic a Sufi should pass through the renunciated and worshipping stages. See Ibn Sina, al-Ishdrdt wa al-Tanbihdt, sharh al-Razi wa al-Tusl, Vol. 2 (Cairo: Matba'ah al-Khayriyyah, 1325), p. 104. See: Abdul Halim Mahmud,a/- Taftdr al-Falsafi ft al-Isldm (Beirut: Dar al-Kita"b al-Lubnani, 1982), p. 409. 28 Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1975), p. 48 29 Al-Isfahani, op. tit., p. 36.

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because he did it from his own choice, without being forced. Re nunciation is for the sake of renunciation which means that he felt very closely to God. Accordingly, he must love and worship Him by his heart and body. Thus Abu Yazid was said to have never forgotten a of God in his entire life. He always reportedly led prayer at the .

B. The Teaching of Intoxication (Sukr) Abu Yazid's doctrine is of rapture (ghalabat) and intoxication (sukr). He said that a rapturous longing intoxication of love cannot be acquired by human beings, and it is idle to claim and absurd to imitate anything that lies beyond the range of acquisition. Abu Yazid and his disciples preferred intoxication to sobriety because intoxication involves the destruction of human attributes. Sobriety only "involves the fixity and equilibrium of human attributes, which are the greatest veil between God and man".30 Abu Yazid wants here to approach closely to God and to have chosen the ap proach of intoxication in order to destroy all his human attributes, which he felt had become a veil between him and God. He did not feel any danger in his action, and he forgot everything even him self. "Intoxication is not an attribute of the sober, and an intoxi cated man is unable to draw it to himself. He is enraptured and pays no heed to created things, that he should manifest any quality involving conscious effort (takllf)".31 Therefore, the creatures have nothing to do with the intoxicated who sinks into the ocean (bahr) of loving God. Their bussiness is only with God and with the truth (al-haqq) and reality (al-haqiqah). Al-Hujwiri does not see that in toxication and rapture cannot be induced by self-mortification (mujdhadat al-nafs). Intoxication is like foresight and choice, and the annihilation of man's control in God. Those faculties therefore survive in him that do not belong to the human genus; and they are the most complete and perfect.32

30 Al-HujwM, op. cit.,p, 185 31 Ibid., p. 184. 32 Ibid. p. 185.

23 AFKAR-BIL 1/2000

Abu Yazid, however, tried to relate his action to the Prophet David (Ddwud), who did "an action" of killing. Abu Yazid saw that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did that in a state of intoxication, according to the Qur'an, "You did not throw, when you threw, but God threw". (Qur'an: 8:17). But God also says "...David killed Goliath (7a/«r)"(Qur'an: 2:251). Thus Abu Yazid held that David really killed poliath by his hand, but in a stale of forgetting himself. Abu Yazid wanted here to explain that his intoxication had its root in the Qur'an. He was consistent in his attitude; his followers were going to defend his intoxication. To a letter sent to him by Yahya bin Mu'adh (d. 258 A.H.), Abu Yazid replied that an intoxicated man would drink all the ocean with the fullness of the wine of love, and even there he would still cry for more to slake his thirst.33 According to al-Hujwiri, there were two kinds of intoxication: with the wine of affection (mawaddah), and with the cup of love (mafyabbah). The mawaddah and mahabbah are Qur'anic terms used by Abu Yazid as a manifestation of a very close relation to God. He, indeed, loves God, and God loves him. The wine itself is a symbol of happiness and even though he drinks many cups of wine he is still feeling thirsty. The relation with God is forever and endless. Abu Yazid was mindful of God all the time, even report edly, not sleeping for the sake of remembering God (dhikr). Al-Junayd opposed the concept of intoxication held by Abu Yazid al-Bistami because for him intoxication is an evil. It in volves the disturbance of one's normal state and loss of sanity and self-control; and inasmuch as the principle of all things is sought either by way of annihilation or subsistence, or of effacement or affirmation, the principle of verification cannot be attained unless the seeker is sane".34 This is to say that al-Junayd is concerned about the state of sanity of a man, and surely loss of sanity is not a practical way, especially in terms of sharing a social life and activi ties. He preferred sobriety as being more acceptable to the people. As the "chosen people" (al-khawwds) whether intoxicated or sober,

33 Ibid., p. 187.

34 Ibid., p. 185.

24 THE MYSTICISM OF ABU YAZfD AL-BISTAMf

they do not absent themselves from sharing (he concerns of their community. Lastly, the sober Sufis look to have more "acceptable" personalities in order to deal with the social orders, whereas to the intoxicated Sufis, the orders and the laws become invalid. They are just busy with themselves.

C. The Doctrine of Annihilation (al-Fana') The state of fand' comes after the state of intoxication. Fand' or the passing away of consciousness in mystical union, was taught first by Abu Yazid al-Bistami. But many see that annihilation has its roots in the foreign sources of Islam such as Hinduism, Bud dhism and Christianity. However, according to Mustafa Hilmi in his book, al-Hayat al-Ruhiyyahfi al-Islam , the Prophet himself experienced the passing away of his consciousness when he was talking to his wife, 'Aisha, who wordlessly reacted to the prophet's question, recognizing that the Prophet was not in his usual condi tion.35 Al-Junayd asserted that 'shath' is primarily an annihilation. "The mystic experiences no feelings towards anything, and loses all sense of discrimination. He passes away from all things, and he is wholly absorbed with that through which he passed away".36 In such a state, it was held that there was no sin any more because mystic was divinely protected by God from all opposition to Him or from all personal interests. That state was in the fullness of obe dience and allegiance to God. The mystic forgot every thing and is directly controlled by God. A Sufi in this condition as said by Abu Yazid, did not care whether he saw a woman or a wall. "The pass ing away of a servant's will in the will of God, but no passing away of a servant existence in God's existence. That is exactly like as the fire burning the iron and being able to influence its character but without touching its essence or changing it".37

35 Cf. Basyuni, op. cit., p. 236. 36 Arthur John Arberry, The Doctrine of The Sufis (of Abu Bakr al- Kafabadhi) (Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1966), p. 131. 37 Basyuni, op. cit., p. 238.

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According to al-Attar (d. 616 A.H), the words uttered by Abu Yazid who had been passing away into God (in self-annihilation), had been really spoken by God Himself, not Abu Yazid.38 The "I" refers to God, not to Abu Yazid. It does mean here that he wanted to be in the position of God, but rather recognized the oneness of God and simultaneously denied the existence of himself. According to Syed Muhammad Naguib al-Attas that "the extinction in God" does not mean that one is absorbed into the other, like a lump of salt into the ocean. There is no intervening space between the one and the others, nor are there two separate entities becoming one - or a duality - becoming a unity. There was, is, and will continue to be, only one. In other words, Sufis "have identified the 'one* to be none other than what mind, dictated by habit patterns derived from environment and experience, chop up, to become the "many". Fana', then, does not mean self destruction nor self-absorption, but self-illumination".39 Fana' as self-annihila tion is an upper grade of sprituality and it is not easy to reach that grade. The Sufis will have passed through a number of conditions before they can attain that self-illumination.

Al-Attas further explains that when the Sufis say that the 'one' is identified with the many, it must be borne in mind that by identity - the condition of being the same - they do not conceive two separate entities existing per se. Such a conception would in evitably imply the existence per se of an infinite space in which God and (he whole of His creation is other than Himself. One is also forced to admit that there was a time when His creation did not exist, as though 'past','present' and 'future' is applicable even to God. Consequently such a conception would be beset by philo sophical thorns, for one would be forced further to admit not two, but four separate entities existing by themselves: matter, space, time and God who, although their creator, is yet dependent upon them, which is absurd. By 'identity', therefore, the Sufis mean 're alization' of a truth, which has always been, and always will con-

38 Ronald Grisell, Sufism (Calif: Ross Books, 1983), p, 60.

39 Al-Attas, op. cit., p. 8.

26 THE MYSTICISM OF ABU YAZID AL-BISTAMl"

tinue to be one and the same, independent of what a mind con ceives as distinct.40

D. His Views on the Issue of Miracles (Karamdt) Abu Yazid also took part in the discussion of miracles (karamdt) that engaged so many Sufis. According to al-Hujwiri, "Miracles may be vouchsafed to a saint (waliy) so long as he does not in fringe (he obligations of the religious law. A miracle is a token of the saint's veracity, and it cannot be manifested to an impostor ex cept as a sign that his pretensions are false".41 There is a great dif ference between (miracles) and mu'jizat (evidentiary miracles) even though they appear as proofs of the power of God to His Saints (al-awliyd') and to His Prophets. Al-Hujwiri further explains that Abu Yazid and others like Dhu al-Nun al-Misn, al- Hallaj, Yahya al-Razi and so on, hold that miracles happen to the Sufis when they are in (he state of intoxication but to the Prophets (mu'jizat) when they are in the state of sobriety. The Sufi does not call the people to follow him by showing these miracles but the Prophets wilh their miracles will challenge the people to rival what they have done.42 Although Abu Yazid underwent intoxication, he did not claim having any miracles, his intent was to explain issue in order to be careful of such claims. Al-Sarraj in his book, al- Luma', in the chapter entitled "The Mentioning of the Degrees of the Spiritual Members in Miracles and People Whose Miracles Have Appeared to Him and the Fear of Tempting (Fitnah)" mentions the position of Abu Yazid with regard to this issue. Abu Yazid seems to be very careful when re ceiving any claim of having miracles and even though he did not reject the idea, he does warn people to reject impostors' claims. For him, claims such as a man 'being able to fly in the air', did not surprise him either. He simply said that even the birds who did not

* Ibid., p. 9. 41 AI-HujwM, op. cit., p. 218. 42 Ibid., p. 226.

27 AFKAR-BE. 1/2000 believe in God could do that.43 He always referred all discussion of such matters to the importance of having a good relationship with God by obeying His commandments and having loyalty to the Shari'a Law in the sense that the personality is very important to be taken into account This issue is very important because the claim of working miracles has been common in Muslim communities even to the present time. Many followers of certain Sufis paths will tend to claim their masters having miracles, ask the people to believe in them and follow their paths accordingly. They even, claim that their masters can harm their opponents. From Abu Yazid's point of view, a miracle which took place is not a token for a saint to ma nipulate the people with that. This is perhaps a matter of God's special gift to His pious servants. So we have to be careful in ac cepting any claim of having miracle by one among us.

VI. Source of Abu Yazid's Mysticism One controversial issue surrounds Abu Yazid's doctrine offand' (self-annihilation). Many writers simply attribute the teaching of Abu Yazid and the other Sufi to the "foreign influences" that ap parently had similar concepts of inner practices. Others try to sug gest that he originated this doctrine. However, according to Nicholson, Abu Yazid might have derived this doctrine from his teacher, Abu 'Ali al-Sindi.4*

The issue of Abu 'Ali al-Sindi has been argued by several scholars. Max Horten argues that Abu 'Ali, was an Indian. Nicholson accepted this idea. The Indian origin of Abu 'Ali how ever was rejected by A.J Arberry, who said that the term 'Sindi' may refer to a village called 'Sind' in Khurasan recorded by the geographer, Yaqut.45 To tell the truth, that Abu 'All was a convert to Islam from another religion. Abu Yazid said of him, "I used to

43 Al-Sarraj, op. cit., pp. 324-325. 44 Cf. Zaehner, Hindu and Muslim Mysticism (London: University of Lon don, I960), p. 93. 45 Ibid.

28 THE MYSTiaSM OF ABU YAZTO AL-BISTAM

keep company with Abu 'Ali al-Sindi and I used to show him how to perform the obligatory duties of Islam, and in exchange he would give me instruction in the divine unity (tawhid) and the ul timate truths (haqd'iq)," Abu Yazid, then, represents himself as learning the 'ultimate truth' about the divine unity from a man who did not even know how to perform the obligatory duties of a Muslim. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that al-Sindi was a convert from another faith.46

According to Arberry, the phrase (of Arabic Text)47 translated by Zaehner as "I used to show him how to perform the obligatory duties of Islam" has been translated by H. Ritter as meaning that Abu Yazid had to teach Abu 'All the Qur'anic verses necessary for prayer. This interpretation was doubtless influenced by the brief mention of Abu 'Ali in unpublished work of Riizbihan al-Baqli, given by Jami in Nafahat al-Uns. This reference was seemingly overlooked by Zaehner. Arberry argues that it is presumptuous to state that Abu 'Ali was a convert from another religion. This is be cause the statements of Abu Yazid show that he instructed Abu 'AH in the exegesis of surah 1 (al-fatihah) and surah 62 (al- Jum 'ah) of the Qur'an. It is interesting in view of what Abu 'Ali is said to have taught Abu Yazid in return to remember (hat surah 62 (which is sometime known as surah al-Tawhid).4i On the other hand, Abu Yazid was also said to be influenced by the Upanishads introduced by Al-Sindi. The former seems to use the words and concepts used in Upanishads. For example, the famous "Thou art that" has its counterpart in a saying of Abu Yazid: Once God raised me up and placed me before Him and said to me; O Abii Yazid! verily My creatures long to see 46 Ibid., pp. 93-94. 47 Waqala Abu Yazid al-Bistami rahimahullah: Sahibtu Ada 'Ali al-Sindi, fakuntu ulaqqinuhu ma yuqlmu bihifardahu, wakhna yu'allimuni al-tawfiida wa al-haqa'iqajarifan. 48 A.J. Arberry, "Bistamiana", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and Afri can Studies, vol. XXV (London, University of London, 1962), p. 36.

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thee. And I said: 'Adorn me with Thy oneness, so that when Thy creatures see me, they may say: 'We have seen Thee' (i.e., God) and Thou art that (fa takunu anta zdka), Yet I (Abu Yazid) will not be there at all (wa la akunu ana hunaka).49 "Thou art that" was considered by Zaehnerto be a proof of the great influence of the Upanishads on Abu Yazid, allowing him to distinguish between the "empirical self of man and his "real self, and also between atman and Brahman. But al-Junayd defended Abu Yazid by saying that the statement refers to his closeness to God, pointing out that in one of the Traditions, the Prophet when he wanted to pray said, "I stood up before God" (bayna yaday al- Malik al-Jabbar). On another occasion the Prophet said, "My ser vant ceases not to draw nigh unto Me by works of devotion until I love him, and when I love him, I am the eye by which he sees and the ear by which he hears, etc."50 According to Ansari the view that the above-mentioned words come from the Upanishads is not quite correct because the "Thou" in Abu Yazid ls statement refers to God and not to Abu Yazid. However, 'Thou' in the Upanishads refers to the reality underlying the world. The Upanishads distinguish between the empirical self of man and his real self; and they also distinguished between atman or Brahman which is the essence of the world or between God. Such distinctions, however, are not visible in Abu Yazid and, therefore, it is not true to say that Abu Yazid is influenced by the Upanishads. But the question should be raised is whether the words of both Upanishads and Abu Yazid convey the same mes sage.51 We argue that similarities in words alone are not proofs to say that the latter was influenced by these sources. The other issue regarding the influence of Hinduism upon Abu Yazid's ideas and practices is the word "deceit" (khud'ah): As soon as I reached (God's) Unity I became a bird whose

49 Al-Sarraj, op. cit., p. 382. 50 Ibid., p. 102. 51 Ansari, op. cit., p, 46.

30 THE MYSTIQSM OF ABU YAZID AL-BISTAMI

body was oneness and whose wings were of everlasting- ness; and I went on flying in the atmosphere of relativity for ten years until I entered into an atmosphere a hundred mil lion times as large; and I am on flying until I reached the expanse of eternity and in it I saw there the tree of One ness". (Then (says al-Sarraj), he described the soil (in which it grew, its root and branch, its shoots and fruits, and then he said) Then I looked, and I knew that all this was de ceit.52

In this context Zaehner tries to relate the word 'deceit' (khud'ah) with the theory of Maya in the Upanishads. For Abu Yazid, the whole empirical world is an illusion. He claimed to have refused many offers of the world given by God as a tempta tion to him because God also warned him not to take these offers, as they were all deceptions. Otherwise God offered him His divine favours ('ataya ildhiyyah).53

According to Ansari, Zaehner has misunderstood the words used by Abu Yazid. That is to say that Ansari did not agree with the idea of an Hinduism - influenced Abu Yazid. Al-Junayd as well defended Abu Yazid saying that the latter had his own ideas and practices which are not contradictory to the Islamic teachings as far as the verses of the Qur'an and the Traditions are concerned.

VI. Conclusion

Abu Yazid al-Bistami emerged as one of the most eminent Sufis in Islamic history. He was among the Sufis who was regarded by al- Junayd as Gabriel among the angels. No one can deny his contri bution to Sufism. His shatahats became dominant in his Sufi ideas. Al-Sarraj and al-Junayd wrote in his favour, defending his sayings by regarding him as a scholar who has a right to understand Is lamic teaching in that way. For them, all of his ideas and practices were inherent from Islam itself.

52 Translated from Arabic by R.A. Nicholson, see: Bistamiana,op. cit., p. 28 and Angari, op. cit., p. 103. 53 Zaehner, op. cit., p. 147.

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De facto, the later Sufis, such as al-Junayd, al-Hallaj, al- and al-'Attar regarded him as their master. Thus their ideas and practices have roots in Abu Yazid's ideas and practices. Abu Yazid was respected as well as the chief of gnostics (sultan al- 'drifin).

I think it is very difficult to judge or even to evaluate, the ideas and practices of Abu Yazid by modern standards, particularly his practices of fana (annihilation), sukr (intoxication) and zuhd (renunciation). All of these practices were fruits of absolute long ing for and love of God. The world for those who practiced them was nothing except a field (mazra 'ah) for the sake of the day of judgement (yawm al-qiyamah).

It is really difficult to understand the Sufis' shatahat because the languages they spoke were derived from mystical experience. That was the world of inner experience and not being easy for any one to get in it. Abu Yazid bequeathed the valuable ideas of a mystic to be appreciated even in modern times because Sufism is still currently popular, particularly in western scholarship. Possibly many of his ideas will be interpreted broadly in order to promote the spiritual essence in the face of the challenges of materialism. It is not easy for ordinary Muslims to attain the gnostic stage in these modern materialistic times. Yet tendencies toward Sufism are probably going to be found in many communities. People, have become conscious of their soul-dimension and fear that failure to fulfill this dimension will corrupt the stability of personal and so cial life. A merely material improvement cannot guarantee their survival. Finally, I think that the positive aspects of the ancient Sufi teachings can be introduced and reformed in the light of mod ern times. Many of their ideas and practices were probably related to the circumstances surrounding them at that time, but, studies of Sufism cannot neglect then" contribution, precisely because present- day Islamic Sufism has been built on these foundations.

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